I've been writing about Doodle, who apparently has an ovarian cyst or some endocrine disorder, in the medical threads. But I have a more general diet question I thought I'd ask here.

Both Oreo (my heart pig) and Doodle (who probably has the cyst) had x-rays yesterday. They were both so gassy that the doctor couldn't see anything but puffed-up digestive organs in their x-rays, so we have to de-gassify them for a retake next week. We have medication, but we also need to incorporate a diet change, and it will probably be a long-term one.

In order to reduce their gassiness, the doctor told me to eliminate all fruits, including tomatoes and peppers, as well as sugary veggies like carrots from their diet. They are in general revolt right now about that, but I'm sure they'll get used to it. I'm trying to make it up to them by getting them a yummy variety of leafy greens, but I'm sure there are some of those I should stay away from, too. Cabbage, I'm assuming, is one of them. But are there others?

Most of my seniors are having the same issues in which you are talking about, and several actually have softer stools all depending on what they are fed. I have been trying to experiment with their diet and see what triggers it and I have found that tomatoes, peppers (of all colors) and carrots they just can not tolerate. For my real old ones they seem to be doing the best on escorole, green leaf, red leaf and boston. Some days I have been giving them cucumber without the skin on as a special treat and they do well with that. They can not do fruit either, but they can tolerate their blueberrries twice a week (three berries per pig).

I have been experimenting with their diet now for about five to six months and that is the best solution that I personally have come up. I do suppliment my senior pigs on this "special diet" with critical care once a day, and Boris (who is going through a rough time and can only eat smaller amounts) twice a day. Everyone has mantained their weight.

I'm also interested in this, since Penelope gets really gassy too. Is romaine ok? I know she can't have any peppers or fruits since she had to go to the emergency room from all the gas the last time she ate them.

I think that cruciferous vegetables, in general, cause gassiness. These would be veggies that are in the cabbage family. I Googled around for a list... I am sure there are others but these two looked fairly complete:

Woah, I didnt know broccoli could be so dangerous. We have not had any issues with gas here so far, but I wasn't really aware of this problem. I'll try to watch so I can make changes in diet if I have to.

Thanks Feylin! The pigs in that picture are Snow and Penelope. In general, they both only groomed each other a few times. My other pig Shaker likes to groom his girlfriends' ears a lot more though. He likes to keep his girls clean and looking their best!

Hey guys, my piggy didn't poo for 1 day and was acting weird, so off to the vet hospital she went, and she stayed overnight.

They couldn't find anything wrong with her so I'm figuring it was a an upset tummy or bad case of gas, thankfully she's back on track and pooing everywhere as normal :).

I'm eliminating broccoli from her diet she gets rather alot and I don't think she'll really miss it.

I do spoil her with apple also SHE LOVES IT and I lie down and she runs up to my chest to get it but I think I also give her too much of that, so I'll be very sparing with it . She gets a small cherry tomato per day but I'm gonna cut this back to once or twice a week. Won't stop the bell peppers tho as I grow miniature ones especially for her in the garden.

Along with leafy greens fresh grass, hay, pellets and moderate
"non gassy veges" hopefully she never have a pooing problem again

When Piggy isn't feeling well I pare his diet down to green leaf lettuce and cilantro, nothing else. He has a very sensitive GI system and can't have peppers at all. Well he can have small bites but has to be given simethicone or else he gets so gassy he stops pooping.

I would completely eliminate all cabbage and it's relatives. Relatives of cabbage include but are not limited to: broccoli/broccalini, brussel sprouts, bok choy, and kale.

For me it's easiest to severely reduce the diet until the system returns to normal and then slowly re-introduce foods to see what does and does not cause issues.

I don't usually feed more then 1-3 sprigs of parsley per pig. Any more then that and I start to smell them, peww! I feed in smaller amounts with more variety.

One thing I have noticed, like with us humans, if they get a certain kind of food on a daily to bi-daily basis, it doesn't seem to get them gassy like it would another. For us, it's helped to give them smaller portions and wider varieties.

Signs of gas I notice; fur is fluffed out and not moving around much. Passing gas can be heard when holding them or close to cage, and smelled! Also can notice how they are laying, if they look uncomfortable, not laying like usual, moving rear end to release air. Ever try a massaging mat? Helps them sometimes with no harm and feels good for ya both.

Peppers give Junie gas too... and its so hard because they are her favorite. When she finishes her sliver, she tries to bully Zabby and Pinky out of theirs, and when that isn't enough, she bites the bars.